Abstract

COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease-19) is a zoonotic illness first reported in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019, and is now officially a global pandemic as declared by the World Health Organization. The infection is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 infected patients can be asymptomatic carriers or present with mild-to-severe respiratory symptoms. Imaging, including computed tomography is not recommended to screen/diagnose COVID-19 infections, but plays an important role in management of these patients, and to rule out alternative diagnoses or coexistent diseases. In our multicenter case series, we outline the clinical presentations and illustrate the most common imaging manifestations in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

(A) CXR shows biapical mass like densities with fibrosis (block arrows) from ongoing and sequelae of prior mycobacterial infection. An underlying neoplastic mass in the right upper lobe was in the differential. In addition, there are patchy bibasilar subtle opacities (white arrows). A CT chest was subsequently performed. (B-D): Axial (B, C) and Coronal (D) CT chest show multifocal peripheral patchy GGOs in right upper lobe and basal segments of both lower lobes. These findings of organizing pneumonia pattern are nonspecific and may be seen with atypical infection such as viral pneumonia among other etiologies. Note the right apical mass and bi-apical fibrosis from old and ongoing Mycobacterial infection in the coronal CT image (Block arrows on D). CXR, Chest radiograph; GGO, ground glass opacities.